Tuesday, 10 May 2016

Stresses And Smiles.

It is fair to say that
the last two weeks have been somewhat manic. What with the start of
exam season (which meant lots of invigilating for Yours Truly),
visitors from antipodean lands and preparations for EM-con, there has
been very little time to squeeze in writing or blogging let alone any
running to clear the mind.

So, you might feel that
I've been somewhat stressed and anxious. True, the invigilating takes
it out of me. Hour upon hour of mind-numbing seriousness does tend to cause a certain amount of atrophy in the cerebral area. This followed by maniacally
running around the house eliminating every last piece of dust and
detritus before an old childhood friend comes to visit can raise ones
blood pressure as can the comment, “You have a cat. I die if I go
near cats.” But a cup of tea in the garden can soon relax one's
nerves and belay any fatal asthma attacks.

As for one of the
largest comic cons in the East Midlands: yes, this took an insane
amount of preparation which in turn led to anxious nausea, dizziness,
tears and tantrums. But what an event it was! I had a great time
meeting up with readers of my Sam Spallucci books and making new
friends and acquaintances.

One such person was a
delightful young lady by the name of Frances. She came up to my
stall, supported by her crutches, and we got talking. It turned out
that we had a major life issue in common: defunct ears! However,
whereas mine require, at the most, a day or two in bed or the
occasional use of a walking stick, this young woman's auditory issues
dominated her life completely, so much in fact that her balance was
almost completely non-existent and she had been forced to have one of
her inner ears removed and replaced with a cranial induction hearing
aid.

However, what is the
one thing that I shall remember most about her? Is it her wobbling
from side to side as we spoke? Is it her telling me how she had
dreaded the surgeon removing part of her skull?

No, it's neither of
these. It's her infectious smile. This brave young woman refuses to
let her physical disability ruin her life. She takes what she has and
and just runs with it.

She is a shining
example to us all.

Don't forget, you can catch up with my writing bits and pieces at the following places: